NASHVILLE, Tennessee - When Gary Wade was appointed to the state Supreme Court in 2006, the self-described "mountain boy from the Smokies" planned to serve the eight-year term and retire from his distinguished judicial career.

MINNEAPOLIS - U.S. District Judge Michael Davis had seen this in his courtroom before - a young Somali-American who hadn't previously been a troublemaker was now accused of conspiring to leave the U.S. and join the Islamic State group.

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia - Slovenia's prime minister says his government has appointed the head of the International Court of Justice, Ronny Abraham, as the country's representative in arbitration over a border dispute with Croatia.

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana - A Baton Rouge judge has ordered Caddo Parish's criminal court judges must stop ordering the public defender board to fund private lawyers appointed to represent indigent defendants that the public defenders are unable to defend due to conflicts.

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania - A federal judge threw out provisions in Pennsylvania law on Friday that he said make it unconstitutionally difficult for independent or minor political party candidates to get onto ballots because of the threat of costly court challenges.

RICHLAND, Washington - Specific requirements and deadlines are needed to hold the U.S. Department of Energy accountable in the cleanup at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, a federal judge told state and federal officials on Thursday.

MINNEAPOLIS - Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Eric Magnuson was appointed Thursday to help facilitate potential changes to the state's civil commitment program for sex offenders, which was ruled unconstitutional last month.

KINGSTON, Jamaica - A judge in the Bahamas ruled Wednesday that a U.S. bankruptcy filing by the developer of an unfinished $2.5 billion megaresort in Nassau will not be recognized in the Caribbean archipelago.